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In its bid to flatten the COVID-19 curve, the Govt overlooked the need to formally integrate domestic violence/abuse into the public health preparedness and emergency response plan
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In the run-up to the announcement of a nationwide lockdown starting from March 25, there were several areas where the Government failed to craft a strategy to address its possible fallout. One such aspect that was completely ignored was the way to deal with incidents of domestic violence (DV) against women and children in the country during the 21-day shut down. The checks and balances that needed to be in place for victims of DV to resort to in their hour of need were unheeded.
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The term “domestic violence” (DV) is used in many countries to refer to intimate partner violence (IPV) but it also encompasses child or elder abuse, or abuse by any member of a household. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), one in every three women across the globe experience physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner or sexual violence by any perpetrators in their lifetime: At least 30 per cent of all women who have been in a relationship have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by their intimate partner.
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It has been seen that violence against women tends to increase during every type of emergency, including epidemics. So, not surprisingly it has increased globally during the lockdowns enforced by governments to combat the spread of COVID-19. It is fuelled by social distancing, economic uncertainties and anxieties caused by the Coronavirus pandemic.
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For instance, countries like China, the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK), Brazil, Tunisia, France, Australia and many others have reported cases of increased DV/IPV. India is also showing symmetrical trends, especially when it is infamous for being the fourth-worst country (after the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia) for gender equality (ranked by perception).
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According to the Crime in India Report, 2018, published by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), every 1.7 minutes a crime was recorded against women in India, every 16 minutes a rape was committed and every 4.4 minutes a child is subjected to domestic violence.
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Within a few days of the lockdown, the National Commission for Women (NCW) noted a rise in the number of DV/IPV complaints received via e-mails. The NCW Chairperson believes that the real figure is likely to be more since the bulk of complaints comes from women in the lower strata of society, who send their complaints by post. In March and up to April 5, the NCW received 310 grievances of DV. During this period, a total of 885 complaints were received by the NCW for other forms of violence against women (example: Bigamy/polygamy; denial of maternity benefits to women; dowry deaths; harassment of married women/dowry harassment; outraging the modesty of women/molestation; rape/attempt to rape; right to live with dignity; sexual assault and sexual harassment). Several women’s rights organisations have also been receiving numerous DV complaints since the enforcement of the lockdown.
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The number of cases reported might not be proportional to the actual rise in the number of DV/sexual abuse cases. This is because the woman/child locked down with the abuser does not get access to a mobile phone or the space and time, with limited access to financial resources and social networks or even the courage when s/he could call up for help. In other words, all options of escape for the former from their situation of despair are impaired.
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Thus, the intensity of the impediments s/he would normally face has been exacerbated by the pandemic and the lockdown.
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While the NCW Chairperson has urged women to contact the police or reach out to State Women’s Commissions if they face DV or their children are being abused, it must be noted that there might be chances where the police are delayed in such rescues. This is because they are already handling challenges of enforcing the lockdown, ensuring delivery of essentials to vulnerable sections and in several places assisting health workers in the discharge of their duties. Further, women have felt additionally unsafe in approaching the police because they think that if their husbands are arrested, they could be harassed by in-laws, or once their husbands return, they or their children would be tortured even more.
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With partners and children potentially trapped at home during the COVID-19 lockdown, the rate and intensity of abuse could get even worse and extend to child abuse. Repeated acts of physical violence, such as slapping, hitting, kicking and beating; sexual violence, including forced sexual intercourse and other forms of sexual coercion; emotional (psychological) abuse, such as insults, belittling, constant humiliation, intimidation (e.g. destroying things), threats of harm, threats to take away children; controlling behaviour, including isolating a person from family and friends; monitoring their movements; restricting access to financial resources, employment, education or medical care, often result in depression, panic attacks, other anxiety disorders and even suicides.
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It often has lasting impacts on the survivors as research suggests that the memory of abuse persists long after the violence has stopped. This often results in chronic health problems and developing risks of many diseases that arise from prolonged stress.
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In the critical situation of trying to combat a pandemic, an increased number of women/children are faced with the plague of DV within their households. It must not come as a surprise because DV topped in the category of violence against women/girls in 2018. As per the data, a total of 89,097 cases related to crimes against women/girls were registered across India in 2018. The figures indicate that not much has improved when compared to the figure of 86,001 cases registered under this head in 2017. The crime rate per lakh women/girl population was 58.8 in 2018 in comparison to 57.9 in 2017.
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The National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4), 2015-16 highlighted that 30 per cent of women/girls in India in the age group of 15-49 experienced physical violence since the age of 15.
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Among married women experiencing physical, sexual or emotional violence, an alarming 83 per cent claimed that their husbands were the main perpetrators of such forms of abuse, followed by abuse from the mothers (56 per cent), fathers (33 per cent) and siblings of the husbands (27 per cent). The major crimes reported by women in India are — cruelty by husband or relatives (32.6 per cent), assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty (25 per cent), kidnapping and abductions (19 per cent) and rape (11.5 per cent).
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The above crime statistics are unable to capture the data on violence against women in its entirety. This is primarily due to the prevalence of orthodox social norms and the stigma that is placed on survivors of DV/sexual abuse which leads to such cases being grossly underreported. The report also shows that unemployment and alcoholism of the male partner are highly associated with DV/sexual abuse on women/girls.
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In addition to the direct health threat posed by the Coronavirus, the pandemic and restrictions aimed at checking its spread have heightened anxieties, right from apprehensions of catching the disease, to financial worries, to social concerns. There is also a concern that DV/sexual abuse would further increase with job losses and other economic pressures. An added challenge has been the importance of intertwined negative psycho-social impact on mental health of women/girls.
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In the attempt to flatten the COVID-19 curve, women’s equality and physical and mental health seem to have suffered a collateral damage. The Government overlooked the need to formally integrate DV/sexual abuse and mental health repercussions into the public health preparedness and emergency response plans against Coronavirus. In fact, the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) that seeks to “eliminate all forms of discrimination and violence against women in the public and private spheres and to undertake reforms to give them the same rights to economic resources and access to property by 2030”, is being enormously compromised.
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Members of the community must be made aware about the increased risks to women’s/girls health and life in the lockdown days. They must develop the ethos to condemn violence and shoulder the responsibility of offering all possible assistance to ensure their safety. In its efforts against COVID-19, the Government must allow civil society organisations, counsellors, mental health organisations and providers to come to the rescue of the women/girls facing DV/sexual abuse. Reaching out to women/girls in distress and the need to address the various forms of violence against them need to be classified as an “essential service” by the Government. Finally, the perpetrators of DV/IPV/sexual abuse must be brought to trial and repeat offenders must be dealt with strictly as per the provisions of law.
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(Writer: Simi Mehta|Balwant Mehta| Arjun Kumar ; Courtesy: The Pioneer)
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Aggressive door-to-door screening and testing have put the epicentre town of Rajasthan on the road to recovery
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Much has been written about how China stifled the Wuhan contagion by aggressive containment and sealing the city so that nobody could leave it, thereby confining and choking the virus in the hotspot. Of course, one wonders why China could not have shown the same military aggression when cases started multiplying, under reported them instead, turned down world virologists and WHO and erred on saving the world a disaster. A bigger success story is of Taiwan next to China, which has had positive cases but deaths in single numbers. That’s because it adopted an aggressive protocol since the last week of January, with senior Government officials travelling to China, inspectors keeping a watch on board flights, the Government suspending flights from China and then tracing, isolating, testing, treating and re-testing each citizen with a travel history, monitoring his/her every move. This it topped up with an emergency protocol should there be a flood at anytime. This is perhaps the model that Bhilwara has adapted and applied rigorously to contain the spiral of the disease. Even as the number of Covid-19 cases in India are leaping through the charts, there have been no new cases at Bhilwara, although it was a hotspot with cases spreading from a hospital. The last Coronavirus case in Bhilwara was reported on March 30 when the total positive cases in the district were 26 with two deaths. It is difficult to believe that what was once considered the epicentre of Rajasthan has turned around an intractable situation. The Bhilwara administration acted fast, enforcing a curfew and sealing district borders on March 20, even before the national lockdown. After quarantining the entire hospital staff and patients, it went for aggressive testing, conducting a door-to-door screening of its 28 lakh population to detect any signs of community transmission. It allowed bare essential shops and medical stores to stay open for limited hours while the administration home-delivered ration, fruit and vegetable supplies through local booths. The administration is now contemplating home-delivering milk and medicines so that nobody steps out at all and even cancelling curfew passes. The police are enforcing the curfew through regular patrols. The confinement has minimised the possibility of spread as nobody has been allowed to even walk the streets, leave aside crowding markets. Although it has tested 300 to 400 samples every day, the authorities are planning to ramp that up to 4,000 over the next few days. Not only that, since the samples were being sent to Jaipur, which is about 250 km away and identification took time, the town will have its own testing set-up this weekend. In effect, the entire district is under watch, cut off from the world. And till it is an all-clear, it will continue the rigour.
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Perhaps, this is what the Health Ministry is considering as trends clearly establish that 80 per cent of the infection has occurred in 62 districts. And while the lockdown may be eased in low-density parts of the country, the hotspots could be subjected to an aggressive testing and containment protocol along what has come to be known as the Bhilwara model. In fact, India’s fight against COVID-19 can only be tackled if it is decentralised down to the unit level and policy-makers let specific geographies and local dynamics decide how things could work best at a cluster. The non-pharmaceutical intervention is the best way to contain the crisis given India’s non-existent health infrastructure and Bhilwara has shown how to bring the virus out of hiding. The faster we do it, the easier it will be for us to get back on the road to recovery and get the economy going.
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(Courtesy: The Pioneer)
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The much-recommended measure of social distancing practised around the globe to stem the spread of this pandemic is almost impossible in many parts of India
When pandemics hit, they usually hit the poor the hardest, if not the first. Like the months bygone, the next couple of months are going to schlep through the looming threat of the contagion bulging into the next stage of community spread. This may precipitate the exponential disease spikes and deaths in numbers that we can very well speculate. They may be in thousands if not millions, considering the poverty and density of population. It is high time that we stand up and walk with the Government and aid its efforts to fight the pandemic by not only following its instructions on social distancing and not hoarding essential commodities but also by contributing intelligent observations and suggestions.
We have seen so far that COVID-19 can quickly overwhelm the health systems of countries, including those nations that are said to have advanced healthcare systems, like Italy and the United States (US). The ongoing rise in mortality in such developed nations portends a very dark future for poorer nations with inadequate healthcare facilities, including ours.
The first line of defence against any pandemic is surveillance: Monitoring human (and animals where relevant) populations to spot outbreaks and containing them at the earliest. In countries with overall impoverished infrastructure, isolated outbreaks are likely to go undetected longer and thus simmer and spread.
At the current stage, our public healthcare system is expected to detect where the virus is spreading and collect high-quality real-time data from various geographies and groups of people, identifying pockets of infection before they multiply into larger outbreaks.
It is for our health systems to be able to figure out which communities can expect to see a rise in Coronavirus cases and where to allocate resources in anticipation of rising hospitalisations.
Without quality data, no one can respond appropriately to this fatal threat, neither as individuals nor as a society. Nor can we learn whether countermeasures adopted so far against the pandemic are working or not. The most important component of the contagion data is information from the laboratory tests detecting active infections, past infections, immunity status of people as well as assessing herd immunity in communities. These present a real picture of the Coronavirus’ spread and status in the country.
The priorities of action plans for the road back to normalcy would be maintaining a robust and vigilant healthcare system, a firm administration with impeccable attention to detail regarding the nuances of the vulnerable groups living at the edges (migrants and daily wage labourers) and an effective targetted (sentinel) surveillance system.
If the country’s systems function to their full potential, we would be able to learn where the Coronavirus is dormant. And once we know the location and size of the problem, we can start leaving our homes gradually, return to work and attend schools and universities, bring businesses back in shape and let people congregate for movies, meetings, weddings or mass prayers.
An observation, or rather a lesson learnt from countries battling the Coronavirus in an advanced stage than ours, is that the threats posed by the virus have cast a spotlight on the shortcomings in healthcare systems across the globe. The population of billions in India may be the next battleground in the fight against the contagion if proactive measures are not undertaken at this stage.
Home to one-third of the world’s slum-dwelling population, India is largely filled with people battling poverty and poor education (including health education and general inadequate know-how about things), existing co-morbid conditions and most importantly hygiene challenges (i.e., limited access to resources such as clean water, soap, disinfectants and so on).
The much-recommended measure of social distancing practised around the globe to stem the spread of this pandemic is almost impossible in many parts of India. With a population density of 2,77,136 people per square kilometre (sq km) in Mumbai’s Dharavi slum to 1,25,000 people per sq km at the Rasoolpura slum in Hyderabad, the difficulty in observing social distancing is self-explanatory. Slums are an integral part of a city’s economy as those are where a majority of the labour force and domestic help stays, all around the country. Now, with three cases of Coronavirus cases appearing in the Dharavi slum, these places are also a ticking time bomb where the contagion is concerned.
The biggest challenge regarding hygiene is overcrowding around common toilets — Dharavi slum has one toilet per 1,440 residents. The Covid-19 virus is known to survive longer than three days in faecal matter, which makes crowding around toilets and living amid bad drainage a major threat.
The focus must now shift to proactive testing for asymptomatic and symptomatic Covid-19 bearers, within the most vulnerable, high population density pockets of India.
There are genuine capacity issues but we need mandatory Covid-19 testing of all slum inhabitants across the country. Quarantine is a must for the asymptomatic and symptomatic bearers of the Coronavirus in slum zones in different pre-identified, isolated locations.
This test data is vital in enabling the right strategy to manage the next steps of Coronavirus containment and eradication. The health system hence should encourage doctors to test liberally (without any out-of-pocket payment from the people given their economic status).
About laboratory test data, we see that unlike in developed nations, the data is either incomplete or completely unavailable in developing nations like ours due to poor infrastructure and coordination issues. This makes it impossible for administrators, scientists, healthcare professionals, researchers and the general citizen to assess the extent and significance of the testing efforts.
The other component of an effective healthcare system of a low-income country is to focus on serology tests. RT-PCR is the confirmatory test for COVID-19 which is currently priced at Rs 4,500 per test and takes more than a day for the result to be available. The serology tests on the other hand are much cheaper and can be used extensively for screening. These are not confirmatory tests and hence not used in clinical practice but these tests have value in epidemiology studies and herd immunity assessment.
These tests screen blood for the antibodies that confer immunity after exposure to a pathogen. In public health management, this is essential for tailoring interventions and stopping local spread of a disease, especially a contagious one. Serology is uniquely useful for defining specific anti-viral immunity. If you know that a large percentage of people have been exposed and developed some immunity, it may allow for less-restrictive measures. These tests can be added to routine blood draws with no additional hassle for the patient.
For instance, in the US, ever since the Coronavirus outbreak began, many different groups have ramped up their efforts to develop a serological test. Should a test like this ever become available to the public, it could radically shape how healthcare professionals decide who gets to leave home and return to some semblance of a normal life.
Considering the current status of the Coronavirus contagion, with the uncovering of 10 hotspots of the viral infection within the country, a sentinel surveillance system must now exist in full force and to the highest accuracy.
The Government needs to build it with dedicated funding, perhaps as part of the next stimulus package. This will require an efficient data-collection system that allows cases/suspected hotspots of the disease to be identified and tracked in real time (without overburdening providers with data entry and case reports).
Many of our citizens have already called for the need for special financing arrangements to support surveillance and preparedness for the worst-case scenario of a fierce outbreak. They have also underscored the importance of incentivising the right type of capacity-building, including the right research and evidence-generation capability, to enable effective containment of infection and other mitigation strategies. With funds coming in from various sources and from the taxpayers’ money that is directed towards the COVID-19 response, India, even with a weak healthcare system should concentrate on this and use all available resources wisely until we come out of the pandemic, bruised but not totally defeated.
(Writer: Suravi sharma kumar; Courtesy: The Pioneer)
The long march undertaken by migrant workers has reminded India of its poor but how long will this awareness last?
One can argue that this is not the time to discuss the view, however credible, that the 21-day lockdown has been imposed without adequate thought to its consequences, particularly on the poor. The emphasis now, the argument may continue, should be exclusively on repulsing the COVID-19 invasion which has brought India to a standstill and threatens to play havoc with its life. There is a point in this, as there is equally a point in the contention that the subject needs to be discussed threadbare both from the viewpoint of ensuring accountability on the part of the authorities and the need to avoid in future the mistakes that have been made.
While leaving such a discussion for a post-Corona time — which, one hopes, is not far away — one needs to focus on a related question: How is it that few could anticipate the post-lockdown trudge of hundreds and thousands of migrant daily wage workers, often with their entire families including women and children in tow, to their village homes hundreds of miles away? Anyone familiar with the Indian tradition of family and community support, which survives in a great measure in rural areas despite erosion in urban societies, should have known that the first instinct of starving labourers, without work and shelter and facing uncertain futures, would be to go back to their village homes, with which most of them retain close ties.
The reason is simple: The poor have vanished as an active presence in the consciousness of those who now set the agenda for discourse in India. This was not always so. Mahatma Gandhi’s abiding concern for the poor and making their well-being the touchstone for all action has been reflected in his iconic observation, “Recall the face of the poorest and weakest man you have seen, and ask yourself if this step you contemplate is going to be any use to him.” He also stated, “Poverty is the worst form of violence.” Equally well-known is his theory of trusteeship, the essence of which he expressed succinctly when he said, “Supposing I have come by a fair amount of wealth — either by way of legacy, or by means of trade and industry — I must know that all that wealth does not belong to me; what belongs to me is the right to an honourable livelihood, no better than that enjoyed by millions of others. The rest of my wealth belongs to the community and must be used for the welfare of the community.”
The presence of a socialist influence in the Indian National Congress as early as the 1930s was reflected in the formation of the All-India Congress Socialist Party in 1934 under the chairmanship of Acharya Narendra Deva with Jayaprakash Narayan as secretary. The Congress had a number of important socialist leaders like Sampurnanand, Achyut Patwardhan, Ram Manohar Lohia and Minoo Masani. After Independence, the socialists left the Congress and established the Praja Socialist Party, Socialist Party and the Samyukta Socialist Party respectively and their leaders like SM Joshi, NG Goray, Madhu Limaye and George Fernandes played important roles in the country’s politics. Anger over exploitation and the suffering of the poor was, perhaps, the most powerful driving force behind Karl Marx’s intellectual and political exertions and the programmes of the Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the various Naxalite groups.
For a long time after Independence, the Congress remained oriented towards a moderate, albeit nebulous, form of the ideology. After Parliament had accepted in 1954 the establishment of a “socialist pattern of society” as the aim of economic development, the Avadi session of the Congress, adopted, in January, 1955, a resolution calling for the “establishment of a socialistic pattern of society where the principal means of production are under social ownership or control” and there is “equitable distribution of the national wealth.” Later, Indira Gandhi, who nationalised banks, insurance, coal mines and abolished the privy purses of the princes, rode to a massive victory in the 1971 mid-term elections on the slogan of Garibi Hatao (Remove Poverty).
The shift towards a change in the party’s political and economic trajectory, however, became manifest from the early 1980s. The launch of the “economic reforms” in 1991 saw, in effect, the defenestration of all talk of socialism. The emphasis was now on the market economy and unleashing the animal instinct of Indian entrepreneurs. As in most cases, economic change had its cultural and social consequences. Poverty has ceased to be of concern to the middle class, which enjoys unprecedented purchasing power and which sets the agenda for discourse in the country, constituting over 30 per cent of the population.
The instinctive tendency to look away has been reinforced in its case by the dynamics of a market economy where the driving force is sales, the volume of which is critically linked to revenue and the quantum of profit. Its cutting edge advertising seeks to boost sales by projecting products as not only covetable in themselves but their possession as a measure of a person’s worth. With advertising dominating media, particularly television, the latter shaping people’s mindsets as never before, conspicuous consumption as a means of showing off, has assumed an unprecedented universality. It is almost a new religion that worships wealth and possession and not the character of a person. There is no time for the poor who are reduced to invisibility and are often looked down with contempt as failures.
There have been other changes. The poor and the alleviation of their poverty no longer occupy the centrestage of the political discourse in India. They have now been taken over by issues like the terrorist threat to the country, the Ram temple, the Citizenship Amendment Act, the National Population Register and the National Register of Citizens. One reason for this is, of course, the advent of Hindutva politics and its concomitants. Another is the Congress’s new orientation. It does refer to the poor from time to time but that is mostly en passent. Even otherwise, the decline in its political fortunes gives a cry-in-the-wilderness dimension to its pronouncements. Equally a factor has been the decline in Marxism’s political appeal given its abandonment in Russia and China and the decline of Left politics in general in India. The result: Loss of visibility by poor. The long march and its horrors have made them visible again. But for how long?
(Writer: Hiranmay Karlekar; Courtesy: The Pioneer)
The Opposition is within its rights to ask questions about the Government’s readiness and the Government, too, is duty-bound to remain accountable. Both should keep aside their political agenda as the priority is dealing with the pandemic
Is the Opposition supporting the Narendra Modi Government’s efforts to contain the Coronavirus pandemic in the country? Is the Government doing enough?
One should not raise eyebrows if the Opposition parties in the country do not praise the Union Government’s efforts though they are forced to give support reluctantly. Even in the United States (US) despite the pandemic outbreak and the Government’s efforts to combat it, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has accused President Donald Trump of “playing politics” with the virus outbreak to which the latter responded by calling her “incompetent.” The Speaker hit back saying, “Lives are at stake. This is not a time for name-calling or playing politics.” What both said applies to Indian politicians also.
While Prime Minister Modi has shown his leadership qualities by persuading the people to observe a one-day “Janta (people) curfew” and has successfully taken it forward by putting the entire country under a 21-day official lockdown, the Opposition thinks that the Government is not doing enough.
This was evident during the curtailed Parliament session when the Opposition raised questions on the Government’s tackling of the pandemic. In fact, even running the session became difficult as the Opposition wanted it to be curtailed in view of the outbreak and the social distancing that the Government was advocating for the public. The Opposition accused the Modi Government of ignoring the threat that the Coronavirus posed to the health of the Members of Parliament and running the House in order to install a BJP Government in Madhya Pradesh.
How has the Congress, the main Opposition party dealt with the issue? While the party has been careful to avoid any antagonistic public posture at a time when the nation faces a war- like situation, it has stressed certain key issues. Though delayed, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi wrote to Prime Minister Modi, pledging her party’s support to the national lockdown, adding that she also had certain suggestions.
In her letter, Gandhi had urged the Centre to consider announcing sector-wise relief packages, including tax breaks, interest subvention, deferment of liability, extra measures for migrant labourers and the unorganised sector workers.
Sonia has also asked the Congress chief ministers to gear up for the situation and the Congress has activated its All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretaries, Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) presidents, legislature party leaders and heads of frontal organisations to help people.
Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, who was critical Modi’s way of handling the pandemic, on March 28 pledged his personal support to the Prime Minister in a letter but also appealed for a nuanced approach. He urged the PM to come up with a safety net for the poor and a road map with a time-frame.
Congress leaders, who spoke in a shriller voice earlier, now speak in a muted tone. They are saying, “We are with you but…!” Within hours of Rahul Gandhi declaring his support, party spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi came out with a scathing criticism of the lockdown and the plight of about one crore migrant workers. “You have heightened the nerves of the people of this nation because of your unpreparedness,” he said. It is the same with other Opposition leaders, be it Mamata Banerjee, Pinarayi Vijayan, Sitaram Yechuri, Mayawati or D Raja. The BJP, however, has geared up its machinery along with the full support of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
What is heartening is that the State Governments and the Centre are working in tandem in tackling the pandemic. Cooperation between the Centre and the States fortunately continues at the official level and health is one such area where States have never withheld their cooperation. Interestingly, it is the regional parties and leaders who have taken the lead in the fight against the Coronavirus. Most non–BJP ruled States supported the “Janta curfew.” Chief Ministers like Naveen Patnaik, KC Rao, Jagan Mohan Reddy, E Palaniswami and Arvind Kejriwal have responded positively to Modi’s initiatives. These regional satraps have come up with their own relief measures. While, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced a Rs 200-crore fund to tackle the disease, Kerala’s Vijayan has announced a Rs 2,000 crore financial aid plan. At the State level, too, the Opposition parties in their respective regions have offered to work with the Government, except for a few States like Tamil Nadu.
All this goes to show that the collective political will that is needed to deal with a critical stage in the transmission of the virus, is by and large there in the country. India is facing an unprecedented challenge, which affects each State, each economic sector, each business and the health of each family. What do the people of India want? They are looking to a genuine leadership both from the Government and the Opposition. The Opposition, too, has the responsibility to come up with policy options and the Government must also listen to it. Together, they should be able to cope with the unprecedented pandemic. Both should not fail the people at a time like this. Indeed the Opposition is within its rights to ask questions about the Government’s readiness and its response and the Government, too, is duty-bound to remain accountable. Both should keep aside their political agenda as the priority is dealing with the pandemic. Therefore the response should be reflected in political unity.
(Writer: Karan bhasin; Courtesy: The Pioneer)
It was because of organised testing that Kerala, a State with one of the best healthcare infrastructure, could effectively treat the patients infected with Coronavirus
In Kerala, god’s own lush green country, it is as real as it can be. Some students belonging to this State, studying in Hyderabad, were stranded at the Karnataka-Kerala border last week. They wanted to come back to their State but were stuck and in dire straits. One of them google “searched” for Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s number. This was at 1 am, post midnight. This student was desperate and was just trying her luck. The phone rang and guess who received the call? The Chief Minister himself. It is reported that Vijayan told the student not to worry (don’t worry child…) and that he would find a solution. In moments, she got the number of the top administrative functionaries in Wayanad and when they reached the slated spot, another official was waiting for the students with a vehicle to transport them safely back to their homes. Once they reached their destinations, the girl student called the Chief Minister back to thank him. Vijayan said that he was happy that they had reached safely and asked them to quarantine themselves.
Real-time stories, bordering on myths, have been circulating about Vijayan and his no-nonsense, simple and hard-working Health Minister, KK Shailja, the “teacher” who has openly said that her actions are determined by the advice of experts and scientists and practical and long-term solutions. The manner in which the issue of migrants and visitors, both inside and outside the State, has been addressed reflects just this. Thousands of Keralites work abroad, especially in the Gulf, and the State is a tourist hub with foreigners enjoying its dense green picturesque landscapes, its endless backwaters and safe scenic towns as also its vast coastal regions and sunny beaches.
As tens and thousands of migrant workers and the poor thronged the highways in Delhi and its neighbourhood, mostly heading towards Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the 21-day lockdown announced by Prime Minister Modi has all but collapsed in the capital and the Hindi heartland. There are now genuine fears that these workers, having travelled in congested spaces, without any healthcare safety, often hungry and penniless, might lead to a major medical crisis in the rural hinterland, which apparently has remained insulated from the epidemic/pandemic.
This would be disastrous and lead to a total failure of the laxman rekha drawn by the Prime Minister in his 8 pm television address to the nation or his doctrine of “stay at home” to maintain “physical/social” distancing in a bid to stop the pandemic from entering Stage-III and, thus, become viral and fatal. This would also jeopardise the efforts of States like Kerala and West Bengal, which have countered the crisis with effective, all-round social security, healthcare and administrative measures.
So how did Kerala tackle the migration crisis? First, much before the country took notice, as early as in March, it had put up health desks at airports to screen passengers coming from abroad. Foreigners cooperated, no one was harassed. Testing and quarantine became a must even as hospitals and isolation centres were kept ready. Even while doctors and nurses and other hospital staff were
given all the facilities at Government hospitals, private ones were sounded off by the district administration to be ready for patients and that, too, free of cost.
If one person tested positive, all his/her contacts were tested, too. All domestic travellers were asked to follow self-quarantine, which they dutifully followed. Concerted counselling over the phone and through inter-personal contact was given to people under isolation or those undergoing treatment. Indeed, it was because of organised testing that Kerala, a State with one of the best healthcare infrastructure, could effectively treat the patients infected with the virus. As their numbers grew, they were quickly identified, given treatment and quarantined. None like Bollywood actor Kanika Kapoor hid their travel history either in Kerala or in West Bengal.
All entry points for railways and buses were thoroughly checked. This was an arduous task but medical teams and volunteers went from compartment to compartment checking passengers and testing them. All those travellers taking a bus went through a similar process. All of this was done with immense dignity, patience and efficiency and as fast as it could be done.
There are around 5,000 fully-equipped shelters in Kerala, which are now catering to around two lakh migrant workers. Not a single labour has been allowed to move out. They all seem to be content to stay at their new “homes.” Significantly, the Government prefers to term them “guest workers,” giving them the due dignity and respect they deserve.
Rations for three months have been provided. Their shelters are clean and sanitised. There is running water, soap, sanitisers and proper sanitation systems. Medical centres and counselling are available 24X7. Volunteers and State officials are always at hand. No wonder, the “guest workers” are happy and grateful. Apart from other measures, one of the most significant steps taken by the State Government is to announce social security schemes and financial package for them. The following steps are significant:
A special package of Rs 20,000 crore has been announced to overcome the COVID-19 threat. (Compare this with the Rs 15,000 crore package announced by the Prime Minister for the entire country). The financial package includes Rs 1,320 crore to disburse two-months welfare pension in advance; Rs 1,000 to families not eligible for other social welfare pensions; Rs 100 crore for free foodgrains to families in need; Rs 50 crore for subsidised meals at Rs 20 and a Rs 500 crore health package. Loans worth Rs 2,000 crore will be made available through the Kudumbashree scheme, a highly successful project accessible to the remotest region. A sum of Rs 2,000 crore has been earmarked for employment guarantee programmes. Further, all arrears will be cleared by the State Government by April, amounting to Rs 14,000 crore. Cinema hall owners have been given an entertainment tax reprieve.
The food issue was nipped in the bud with 1,000 food centres, restaurants and hotels offering free food to those in need and community kitchens were operational everywhere. Door-to-door food, too, was distributed. Significantly, as the Chief Minister reiterated in one of his candid press conferences (unlike the one held by Prime Minister) where he took all questions by the media and explained the finest details of the relief operations undertaken by his Government, those who are embarrassed or shy to ask for food, too, have been provided with the “secret” phone numbers. Food and other amenities will be delivered to them and they need not disclose their identity. This is truly democratic governance where the citizen is given the utmost dignity by the Government.
Free prepaid recharge has been provided to those under observation. The students’ wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has been manufacturing sanitisers and distributing them to the public. Civil society and women’s groups have been roped in to provide relief. District administrations are working with ward and local level representatives, including the panchayats. Hence, even in a centralised system, the process of implementation is totally decentralised, easily accessible and efficient.
The current mission is to create a huge volunteer force. Former doctors have been asked to join the healthcare system again. Be it healthcare or drastic measures taken during natural catastrophes like massive floods or even during the spread of Nipah virus, the people of Kerala and its Government have galvanised resources, communities, religious institutions, the youth, women and students repeatedly and successively to collectively combat the crisis at the most invisible grassroots terrain. That is why, yet again, the State seems to be on a strong and solid footing, even as the virus seeks to damage and ravage the world.
(Writer: Acamit Sengupta; Courtesy: The Pioneer)
Many international sporting bodies were in denial about the impact of the Corona epidemic; they have finally woken up
As the viral scourge of Coronavirus swept across the world, national, provincial and local Governments found themselves scrambling to deal with the spread of the deadly infection. However, sporting authorities — from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) — were found with their heads buried in the sand, refusing to accept the impact of the virus on their schedules. While the BCCI relented and postponed the Indian Premier League (IPL) season to mid-April, though it is yet to call off the tournament, the IOC alongside the Tokyo Games organising committee and the Japanese Government persisted with the notion that the games would not be delayed until last week. It was the infection of some athletes at a qualifying tournament in London and the outcry that followed that forced the IOC’s hand. Now, the sporting body and the Japanese Government have announced a year’s delay of the Summer Olympics, which would start July 23, 2021.
While we are living in times, where it is impossible to forecast what will happen by July 2021, one can hope that a cure for the condition is found. Hopefully, a preventive vaccine as well. The postponement of the Games is tragic for athletes, many of whom have spent virtually every waking minute of their lives ever since the flame was extinguished at Rio De Janeiro preparing for the games in Japan. The health and safety of these athletes and the thousands of officials, volunteers and spectators is the overriding concern. This must be at the top of authorities concerned. So a year’s delay gives the authorities enough wiggle room to plan for almost every contingency. The Olympics might be delayed by a year, but it increasingly seems that the BCCI will very shortly have to call off the IPL. Football leagues in Europe will have to plan around how to crown their champions. There is talk of games being played in closed door environment but playing any contact sport would be irresponsible right now. Many fans, particularly of Liverpool Football Club, might be mighty disappointed but the fairest solution right now would be to declare all leagues for all spring and summer sports in 2020 null and void. That may not be fair to clubs like Liverpool but a uniform solution will have to be found as conditions in Europe and the US are not conducive to sports being played at the current time. Thankfully, there are a lot of classic sporting moments available online and some great sports movies and documentaries available to stream in the meantime. Athletes might be disappointed, particularly Indian athletes, who expected to do well in Tokyo, but this is as good a time as any to prepare even harder to win glory next summer, if not this one.
(Courtesy: The Pioneer)
The reverse migration of daily wagers has made a mockery of the Prime Minister’s call for a 21-day lockdown. What prompted this humanitarian crisis?
There is a strange coincidence, if not synergy, between some Twitter handles calling for the national Government to deal with the Coronavirus health crisis, even though the Union Government enjoys a staggering majority, and the sudden exodus of thousands of casual labour from jhuggi clusters across Delhi on Saturday, March 28. This made a mockery of the 21-day national lockdown announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24 and potentially exposed these fleeing families and those they would meet at the end of their journey to the virus, should any among them be silent carriers of the deadly disease.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal could have used the Disaster Management Act, 2005 to rein in migrants from the beginning. The Lt Governor and collectors of the capital’s 11 districts are also culpable for not realising the developments brewing under their watch and total inaction when exodus began from their respective areas. A new Lt Governor will revive confidence in the city’s shaken populace.
The Prime Minister, however, took control of the situation with Sunday morning’s Mann ki Baat, where he warned that those violating the lockdown are “playing with their own lives” and that a complete lockdown was the only solution in the global pandemic. He regretted the discrimination against medical personnel, who are risking their lives to save others at this critical time and applauded all those providing essential services.
Simultaneously, the National Executive Committee of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, under Section 10(2)(1) directed all State and Union Territory Governments to keep migrants, who left their current domiciles to return to their home towns, in mandatory quarantine at the nearest shelter for 14 days as per standard health protocol. It asked landlords not to press for rents for a month. It was later that Kejriwal appealed to all migrant labourers to remain in their current domiciles and not risk catching the infection or spreading it further. He promised to ensure rations and began thermal temperature checks at the bus stand but Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kapil Mishra said the buses must stop plying and people must be given rations at home.
Such mass movement of people from all parts of the city requires meticulous planning and execution. The Centre must fix responsibility for the DTC ferrying people all over the city when the service is restricted to staff of essential services at fixed hours in the morning and evening. By the time thousands of people had collected at the Anand Vihar bus stand, it was too late to send them back to their clusters. Many had already been dumped at the Uttar Pradesh border, catching Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath by surprise.
However, he had to order 1,000 buses to pick up the homeward-bound and ordered a 14-day quarantine of about one lakh people who had entered the State in the last three days. This means some began coming from Thursday.
All district magistrates were given details (names, addresses and phone numbers) of the new arrivals and 60,000 panchayats were asked to share responsibility for the quarantine. Uttar Pradesh has also sent nodal officers to 12 States to help people from Uttar Pradesh, who have business or employment there.
In Delhi, the national and international media had a field day; usual suspects interviewed poor and hungry people walking home in the absence of transport, taking care not to ask why they were moving around during a nationwide lockdown. Al Jazeera spoke with painter Ram Bhajan Nisar, who set off on foot with his wife, two children and 11 others from Delhi to Gorakhpur village on the Nepal border, 650 km away. He admitted that an overnight bus took the family from the border overpass area on Saturday up to Shahjahanpur district, Uttar Pradesh. From there, they got a ride on a tractor trolley, ate at a gurdwara and hoped to get Government transport to reach their village. Hundreds more have been spotted walking towards Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddha Nagar, adjoining Delhi.
The Chief Ministers of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have expressed anger at the Delhi Government for facilitating this huge movement of people across the country in defiance of the nationwide lockdown and without any warning to the respective States. Clearly, at this time, there is no need for competitive activism or politics but a coordination between States to save lives.
The first objective would be to disrupt the Bihar administration with an abrupt invasion of thousands of families, who would immediately need food, shelter and Coronavirus screening, even quarantine. Lack of preparedness on this score would embarrass the Nitish Kumar Government in an election year.
If we destroy the efficacy of the 21-day lockdown, the Prime Minister would have no choice but to extend it further. Failure to resume economic activity and get factories, shops, offices and construction activities going as soon as possible will give the economy a jolt from which it would struggle to recover. It is pertinent that the Centre had announced a slew of incentives for the small and medium manufacturing sector, just prior to the lockdown. This sector is a large source of employment and needs to get on its feet fast.
Can there be any other reason for nudging labour from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to quit the capital? It is difficult to say but some have observed that in all the turmoil, the alleged illegal migrants from Bangladesh — both Bangladeshis and Rohingyas — stayed put. They did not express anxiety about jobs or food and shelter during the crisis; nor did they have an urge to go home. Some kind Samaritans were taking care of them.
Whatever the reasons for the reverse migration, it has increased the urgency for the National Population Register (NPR) in order to track migration and job opportunities across the country, which is vital for future economic planning.
(Writer: Sandhya Jain; Courtesy: The Pioneer)
Home grown test-kits and geo-fencing of COVID-19 suspects show why we need to prioritise the sciences, R&D
If indeed, as Plato famously said, “Necessity is the mother of invention,” then the Coronavirus pandemic has certainly brought out Indian innovation at its best. To begin with, a team at IIT-Bombay and professional and experienced members among the alumni recently developed an app for mobiles called ‘Corontine,’ which would help the authorities keep track of potential or suspected asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19 if they were to leave their quarantine zone. This has been done by creating what the techies are calling a “geo-fence” to keep tabs on people who had travelled abroad since February-end and had been advised home quarantine for a minimum of 14 days to see if they develop symptoms. The self-quarantine was not just for those who travelled abroad, but also for the people they came in contact with after returning, including friends and relatives. Asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19 have been a cause of concern for the medical community globally and in India, too. Particularly as there have been several cases in the country where people escaped quarantine and mingled with the masses, irresponsibly increasing the potential risk of community transmission of the contagion. Then there was Minal Bhosale, a virologist from Pune, who with the help of her team created the first Indian testing kit for the virus, just a day before she gave birth to a baby girl. The test was delivered in a record time of just six weeks and the first batch has now hit the markets, making for a quick and affordable option. The engineering teams based at the automaker Mahindra and Mahindra’s Mumbai and Nashik manufacturing plants developed an Ambu bag ventilator in 48 hours that will cost just Rs 7,500. This indigenously-developed bag valve mask is a self-inflating device that is typically used to help patients with breathing problems and will be an answer to India’s worry over the shortage of ventilators for Coronavirus patients. Now, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is trying to develop “multi-patient ventilators”, wherein several patients can be supported by a single ventilator to meet the huge demand if the Covid-19 outbreak goes out of control as India has only 40,000 ventilators as of now.
This goes to show that when push comes to a shove, in times of crisis, the Indian spirit and mind kick into overdrive to find answers to questions which puzzle the world even today. All around the world, Indian minds are revered and are often even found at high-ranking positions in the fields of science and discovery at the most prestigious institutions. This also points out to the lack of research and innovation facilities and incentives at home. The most brilliant of Indian minds usually flourish the most once they have been recognised by foreign institutions, which value their ideas more than the Indian ones. It is no mystery that the Indian education system does not leave much breathing room for innovation and critical thinking. The education system needs to be overhauled to promote critical thinking and innovation in various fields instead of the basic level of education and knowledge, which is forced upon students. In the absence of a higher education system that is application-based and which encourages breakthrough ventures, we will always remain plagued by mediocrity. The onset of the Coronavirus is something which brought out the best in our scientists and innovators at home. With one of the youngest populations of the world, if nurtured correctly and effectively, we understandably have the potential to become a superpower but the need of the hour is innovation in the field of science. The Government needs to back the sciences to encourage critical thinking and promote research as very few of our premier educational institutions take part or are quoted in global studies. As the recent crisis has shown, what we consign as social sectors in national budgets, namely health and education, need to be accorded a much higher priority. At the same time, amid all talk of immunity, our Ayurvedic sciences can be revived to inculcate a holistic health culture. India has overcome problems before and it surely will do so again when everyone works together and puts human life above everything else. In the end, the battle is ours to fight; nobody else will do it for us.
Amid the prevailing lockdown, the afflictions of migrant labourers are being compounded during their long trek home and some are being beaten up and tortured by police
If the pitiful sight of a father walking with his ten-month-old infant on his shoulders, for over 100 km in this heat to reach his hometown, does not shake us, then it raises serious doubts about humanity and its future. If the death of a 38-year-old worker after walking for 200 km and the predicament of tens of thousands of jobless, shelterless, hungry, thirsty and helpless migrant workers yearning to return to their villages amid the rapidly proliferating Coronavirus outbreak and the resultant countrywide lockdown, does not receive our empathy, then humanity’s opportunism is well-established.
Amid the prevailing threat of the contagion, the afflictions of the voiceless poor are being compounded and some are being beaten up, tortured, made to do sit-ups, locked up in overcrowded makeshift prisons, while others are being punished through other “innovative” ideas of violence, by those who are supposed to protect the people, the police.
If the authorities have become thankless to the extent that they have forgotten the contribution of informal workers towards the growth of the economy, here are some insights: India’s labour market is dominated by informal employment and constitutes 90 per cent of the total workers involved. Out of the total 47.1 crore workers in 2017-18, the number of informal workers stood at 42.4 crore. They contributed almost 50 per cent to the national income as per a Confederation of Indian Industries’ report.
The rise in urbanisation is a consequence of demographic explosion and poverty-induced rural-urban migration. As per the estimates of the Economic Survey, 2017, the magnitude of inter-State migration in India was 90 lakh annually between 2011 to 2016, while total internal migration was about 13.9 core. If this trend continues, the total number of migrants would be around 21.1 crore by 2020-end. Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Bihar are the two biggest source States, closely followed by Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, West Bengal and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. On the other hand, the main destination States are Delhi, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.
Most workers had migrated in search of livelihood and were involved in low-paying informal work in urban destinations in sectors such as construction, hospitality, textiles, manufacturing, transportation, services and domestic work. Lacking any social or income security, they are not only exploited, ignored and disrespected by their employers but also by the political class, as they hardly translate into votes. With their livelihood threatened by the lockdown and future uncertainties, no wonder they are forced to tread the long road to their hometowns and villages on foot.
At this moment of crisis, coupled with their enforced alienation from the cities, they might not even know if they are also Coronavirus vectors. It can only be hoped that amid the thousands walking alone or with families, children or lining up at shelters and bus stations, with no practical scope for social distancing, there is no one in the crowd who is infected. If it is otherwise, India would become the new epicentre of the outbreak in no time at all, thanks to our inept healthcare system and infrastructure.
Add to this forced exodus the fact that the Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana-(DAY-NULM), which could come to the rescue of these workers, suffers from several inherent challenges. For instance, for the last 18 months the Government has been mulling over the idea of outsourcing the upkeep of the livelihood mission to corporates and philanthropic institutions. This implicit failure of the Government that led to the generation of such an idea is further amplified by hiring big private consultants as project monitoring units, having a “corporate-style target achievement attitude.” Further, the inconsiderate approach of the authorities during times of economic slowdown, when the migrant workers are the hardest hit, is evident from the meagre increase in the budgetary allocation for DAY-NULM vis-à-vis the flagship schemes of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). It was Rs 750 crore (in 2019-20) and was raised by only six per cent to Rs 795 crore in 2020-21. The deep-seated contentions in DAY-NULM do not stop here. Several private players and NGOs have been roped in to carry out different implementation functions for which they have tendered huge sums of money. The irony is that these agencies are bearing the brunt of corruption in the bureaucratic system leading to deferred payments for months and years even after fulfilling their work assignments punctually. The complacency in the approach of the various projects sanctioned under DDU-NULM has remained without any independent third-party monitoring and evaluation.
Given that the Government did its best to arrange special flights across the globe to bring back well-heeled citizens, it is unfortunate that it has turned a blind eye to the plight of the migrant workers. This only represents the deep-rooted systemic contempt and neglect of the vulnerable and the poor.
Though a delayed announcement, there is no denying that the nationwide lockdown is the need of the hour. However, the decision should have been accompanied with a well-crafted draft strategy for each and every section of this diverse country. Unfortunately, as time unfolded, there was no such strategy. However, while ordering everyone to stay at home during the lockdown period, the homeless and those who would be rendered homeless by the shutting down of their sources of employment, seem to have been forgotten.
As the country is bracing for an economic bloodbath with loss of millions of jobs and scramble for food and water for survival and the impending scorching summer, these migrant workers would be the hardest hit once the infection starts to spread among them. The poverty and suffering of all those dependent upon them will increase due to the lack of a source of income. Plus, home isolation will be difficult to attain as large families live in small, closely-packed houses in areas of high population density. This will add to the burden of the already inept public healthcare system and ultimately impact the private and the public sector and hit their bottomlines and profits.
Some of the immediate steps for containing the spread of Coronavirus and saving the lives of informal workers are as follows. The administration must work with various State Governments to arrange district-wise special sanitised trains and buses to send the workers to their respective homes. These means of transport must be equipped with non-perishable food items and water for the passengers.
A pre-boarding health check-up must be done and those showing any COVID-19 symptoms must be prohibited from travelling and referred to the nearest Government hospital.
If the transport cannot be organised, decent accommodation with food, water and sanitation must be arranged. The hotels, guest houses, stadiums, expo centres and so on must be made available. At present, nobody is using them anyways.
Devise and implement an immediate monetary compensation plan through cash and direct incentives for the circular and seasonal migrant workers who have lost their jobs. This must be done on an urgent basis by at least tripling the budgetary allocation of DDU-NULM and immediate transfers. Expand the DDU-NULM component of Shelter for Urban Homeless (SUH) to meet the decent space and shelter requirements along with catering to the shelter needs of women, children, the elderly, persons with disabilities; community kitchens; medical help; in-kind assistance through public distribution systems, water and toilets. This must be developed with service-level benchmarking standards to combat pandemics like COVID-19. This is not a daunting task and only requires passion and keenness of the authorities.
In light of the worsening situation due to COVID-19, information and communication technology (ICT) and research and data analytics must be harnessed and made to work in tandem with the Government on a war footing to ensure that comprehensive efforts being undertaken to test, trace, treat and combat the pandemic reach all sections of society, including the vulnerable and poor migrant workers. This approach will go a long way in ushering in BR Ambedkar’s egalitarian ethos in the country, upon which the Constitution of India rests.
To conclude, as the predictability of life is increasingly being compromised, the virtuous unity of a decisive leadership, mass cooperation and mutual trust will win the fight against the Coronavirus and flatten the curve in India. It is high time that educated Indians, those at the helm of the Government, the private sector and civil society organisations show some sensitivity and generosity and arrange for a safe transit and compulsory 14-day quarantine of migrant labourers in their respective States. Testing times like these and the brewing humanitarian crisis will either solidify the trust of the people in the Government or establish the narrative that the latter exists not for them but just to use them.
(Writer: Simi Mehta / balwant mehta / Arjun Kumar; Courtesy: The Pioneer)
The coming together of all 10 Asean heads as guests of honour for the republic Day parade signals how regional powers like India have evolved to play a vital role in modern international architecture.
Regional organisations are increasingly becoming a vital feature of modern international architecture. The Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean), which completed its golden jubilee recently in 2017, is a regional grouping of 10 separate nation-states – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. It was formed by five countries, which later extended to 10 members.
Asean also shares wide ranging partnerships with various other regional organizations and countries, such as India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and United States. It is the most institutionalized regional association in Asia and a classic example of successful regional multilateralism. Most importantly, it has not remained a mere talk shop, but has embraced economic integration and has, thereby, slowly transformed a once-impoverished Asean region with some war-torn countries into a dynamic economic power house.
The combined Asean Gross Domestic Product rose from $95 billion in 1970 to $2.55 trillion in 2016 and is expected to reach $6.4 trillion by 2027. If it were a single entity, Asean would be ranked as the sixth largest economy in the world just behind the US, China, Japan, Germany, and the UK. France is also at about the same position. Asean is projected to emerge as the fourth largest economy in the world by 2050, with some describing it as the growth engine of the world.
Asean also shares wide ranging partnerships with various other regional organizations and countries, such as India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and United States. It is the most institutionalized regional association in Asia and a classic example of successful regional multilateralism.
All the first five Asean countries — Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore — which once suffered varying degrees of internal communist insurgencies, managed to surpass them. Asean’s success has resulted in the fundamental transformation of geopolitics and geoeconomics in Southeast Asia. Its diplomatic weight bears footprints not only in South- east Asia and East Asia, but also in the broader Indo-Pacific region and in the global arena.
India-Asean partnership: India and Asean share geographical proximity and a robust people-to-people relation- ship which is deeply rooted in history and culture. on seeing deep cultural imprints, Rabindranath Tagore, during his visit to Indonesia lamented, “I see India everywhere, but I do not recognize it.” Even today, in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta, statues placed at major traffic intersections depict figures from the ramayana and the Mahabharata. Jeferysng, a former diplomat based in Bangkok and Kishore Mahbubani, dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, in their jointly authored book, The ASEAN Miracle: A Catalyst for Peace, observe, “Many ordinary Southeast Asians are well acquainted with figures from, say, the ramayana and Mahabharata. Yet, they would be surprised to learn that these figures, which they consider to be part of their heritage, come from India.”
Perhaps no other country can match India’s long historical links with Southeast Asia. Ancient maritime trade routes had linked the Kalingas, Pallavas and the Cholas to Southeast Asia.
Perhaps no other country can match India’s long historical links with South- east Asia. Ancient maritime trade routes had linked the Kalingas, Pallavas and the Cholas to Southeast Asia. Barring Vietnam and the Philippines, all other eight Asean countries share some sort of cultural roots in or exchanges with the Indian civilisation.
India’s Look East Policy, articulated during the Government of PV Narasimha Rao, has been re-phrased and energized as ‘Act East Policy’ by the incumbent Government and its being in full gear is visible from the republic Day invite to all Asean leaders. That India-Asean partnership is on the upward trajectory is evident from the fact that the partnership had graduated from Sectoral Dialogue Partnership in 1992 to Full Dialogue Partnership in 1996 to Summit Level Partnership in 2002 and then to Strategic Partnership in 2012. Asean is home to about seven million Indian diasporas. All Asean countries are among the list of countries to which India’s e-visa facility is available. India has set-up Asean-India Centre (AIC) in New Delhi in 2013 and a separate Asean diplomatic mission in Jakarta in 2015 in order to smoothly and speedily facilitate India’s engagements with Asean. Currently, 30 different dialogue mechanisms, focusing on a range of sectors are operational.
Mutually beneficial engagement: India-Asean relations are mutually advantageous and beneficial on economic, cultural and strategic fronts. India-Asean economic ties are gradually deepening. Statistics of 2016 show, Asean was India’s fourth largest trading partner, accounting for 10 percent of India’s total trade, whereas India was Asean’s seventh largest trading partner. India’s production linkages with Asean countries, especially with Malaysia in electronics, with Thailand in automobiles, with Singapore in digital networks, are strengthening. There is rapid growth in India’s textile trade with Vietnam.
India’s mostly service oriented economy has got potential to compliment the mostly manufacturing-based economy of Asean. India is a member of Asean led regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which when implemented, is likely to cover 40 per cent of the world’s population, 40 per cent of world trade and 33 per cent of global GDP. The Government of the State of Andhra Pradesh has availed support from Singapore in designing master plan of its upcoming new capital Amaravati and is also drawing collaboration with it for infrastructure development in its new capital city.
North-East India is looked at by some as being at the frontier of India at a remote corner. But if South Asia and Southeast Asia are taken as a continuum, which is a geographical reality, then North-East India is right at the middle of it. India needs to tap this advantage to its full potential. Whereas over three million Indian tourists go to Asean countries every year, only about seven lakhs tourists from Asean come to India.
China and Japan are more preferred tourist destinations for Asean people. With improved connectivity, geared up infrastructure, enhanced awareness, North-East India, with its charming tourist destinations, should be able to attract greater number of tourists from Asean countries. Potential for land based international connectivity is the highest in North-East. Borders must be made vibrant with land ports and North-East must be evolved as a hub of healthcare and education facilities be- sides tourism.
Both India and Asean are rich with diversity and nurture a culture of tolerance and co-existence. Ecosystem of peace provided by Asean and its live illustration of the culture of co-existence may hopefully help moderate the aggressive impulses of China, which has got economic interests in Asean. India and Asean collaboration would be promising in securing trade routes, ensuring freedom of navigation and sustaining a rule-based order in the In- do-Pacific region in particular, which is vital for economic and security interests all stakeholders.
Republic Day invite to Asean: India has invited all heads of states of all 10 Asean countries to take part as chief guests in upcoming republic Day parade on January 26. Except in 1956, 1968 and 1974, when India had two republic Day guests, in all other years since 1950, there was only one chief guest each year. Hosting 10 heads of states as Chief Guests on republic Day parade this year is a unique symbolic gesture, underlining the importance India attaches to further strengthening friendly relations with all Asean countries. New Delhi will also host an Asean-India commemorative summit on January 25, which marks the silver jubilee of the establishment of dialogue partnership between India and Asean. India-Asean partnership can play a vital role in shaping 21ST century as the Asian century.
(The writer is an advocate & Assistant Editor, India Foundation Journal. Views expressed are personal)
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